By now you’ve probably already heard the name Anton Casey, or that Ang-moh-who-despises-poor-people. He has suddenly become an overnight Singapore Internet sensation. And no wonder, with our almost unlimited data plans and super-fast fibre optics, news travels fast. Around the coffeeshops you can hear the chatter of the locals saying something about that “sei guai lo (cantonese)” or other more explicit terms referring to Anton Casey.

If you haven’t heard of this household name yet, let me summarise what he did. Basically he remarked on his facebook that people on the trains were poor, and he had to take it only because his car was at the workshop. And when he got back his beloved car, remarked again that he had to “wash the stench of public transport off”.

So, what now? Obviously, a lot of people reacted with rage, and resorted to name-calling. Some even issued death threats to him and his family (who are somewhat innocent, in my opinion). Fearing for his life, Anton Casey issued a public apology with the help of a PR agency in hope that the next Internet sensation would quickly take his stead in the online universe so that he can carry on with his life.

Sadly, this is true. The next Internet sensation will come along, and all will be forgotten soon enough. But should we? What is the problem actually? Why is everyone getting all riled up about the personal opinion of one? Is it because it hit a nerve? Or is it because we are Singaporeans and we realise that we shouldn’t be taking kindly to those who are saying shit about us? A combination of both, I suppose.

First of all, let me categorically state that I abhor the notion of the white man’s burden and anyone that still carries that stigma in them. It is an old-fashioned way that trods on modern society’s values of equality. The “white man’s burden” is the right that white people have to “rule over, and encourage the cultural development of people from other cultural backgrounds until they can take their place in the world economically and socially.” – wikipedia. In short, it just means that white people are better than you or me la.

Make no mistake though; there are still many many Anton Caseys in Singapore. He is just the tip of the iceberg. And unfortunately, I believe that we are the ones that have encouraged this behaviour in them. For example, have you ever experienced a situation where you were queuing in line to get into a restaurant, and an expat gets in first for no apparent reason? Or for some reason or other, these guys also get better “service”? And that people in the service industry try and suck up to them?

What we are doing is that we are treating ourselves unfairly, and treating the expats with more respect than they deserve. All we have to do is change our attitude a little. Have more self-worth, more confidence, speak up more and have more respect for everything, including ourselves. And then maybe these white guys will respect us more.

Well, don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the rest of the news in Singapore has had to say about this incident. And seeing as it’s about the hottest topic right now, everyone has had his or her 2 cents worth to say about it, including me.